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Well I look at Spain a bit differently... it's like what the UK pulled in Greece by rushing ground forces from Africa there. Only difference is Al lost more heavily. It was a good try and had he hit me on the Eastern Front at the same time as the Spain landings I think I might have been hard pressed to fight on both fronts. As it happened... I could have attacked on the Eastern Front while I hit Spain... I was and still am prepared to do so. I think and maybe I am wrong that Germany is in a strong position on the East Front at the moment. If Al attacks he should take heavy casualties and a counter thrust by me might swing the initiative back to the Axis. I have a large force in the West ready to repel invasion there thanks to Spain and the units I deployed West to fight in Spain. The units I deployed West have been replaced with new builds on the Eastern Front. It will be very interesting to see what happens in Spring and Summer 43.

Turnwise... I finished off the Free French unit in Spain. Campaign over... figure around half a million British POWs. Al sailed units into the Black Sea. One sub got struck by carrier air. German air assets in Spain deployed north along with the HQ to prepare to take Denmark back. I began an assault on the city. It will be interesting to see how Al's navy handles German TAC air with Naval Warfare 2.

In Asia I had positioned a German U-Boat and Italian DD along the DEI coast in the event Al decided to abandon the DEI as his position was rapidly becoming untenable. He attempted that and ran smack into both units. The Army transports were sent to the bottom. So he lost another army this turn. Those poor Indians. He elected to leave the Corps in place on the mine. I used airstriked and ground assault to attack it. I also bombarded the port to keep him from leaving. Al moved his fighter in the DEI and I took the Westernmost city. He attempted strategic bombing this past turn of my convoy routes but found a Japanese fighter in the Philapeans. The Solomons fell this turn too. Al had moved a corps there to defend it and after a tough fight it fell. He moved another corp into Truk, which is now under ground assault. Rangoon came under heavy attack again. I have more units headed for the city. Al has also moved in reinforements. So it will get interesting.

I am a bit concerned about the US carriers. I do not know where they are. It has me worried.

In China I mainly went air attacking the Flying Tigers. I think I came close to destroying them.

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Of course your strategy is sound, CH, since SC is a game and you understand the bottom-line. I want to play with more national limitations instead of making the best out of a slugfest, like throwing away French forces like they're free cannonfodder. Anyway, I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE you detailing your strategy and rethinking it along the way. It definitely adds to the overall AAR and gives purpose to your decisions. Maybe Marc will provide us more detail on his strategies since the Eastern Front has kind of gone into stalemate mode.

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Of course your strategy is sound, CH, since SC is a game and you understand the bottom-line. I want to play with more national limitations instead of making the best out of a slugfest, like throwing away French forces like they're free cannonfodder. Anyway, I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE you detailing your strategy and rethinking it along the way. It definitely adds to the overall AAR and gives purpose to your decisions. Maybe Marc will provide us more detail on his strategies since the Eastern Front has kind of gone into stalemate mode.

Hi Peter

You are right of course - I am throwing Free French forces around the globe like confetti and it is politcally unrealistic. Actually I have just had another corps arrive in the pacific, and I have sent it straight to the pacific battle front ready to sit on an island and probably get pounded by the IJN. It is not what would have happened in history - not a chance. But it is the way the game plays... so it would be daft not to do it.

Spain is an interesting one as it has become a point of discussion. Let me make one thing clear so that people dont think I'm trying to wriggle out of anything - my campaign there was a failure. It did not achieve what I wanted, which was to tie axis forces down for several more turns. I was over ambitious declaring on Portugal instead of anchoring an operation around the Gibraltar fortress and considerable carrier air power. In hindsight it was dull of me.

However the context is important. I was never going to counter attack in Russia at that point - it would have been foolhardy and left me open to potential defeat and a turn around. I didnt have enough armour to do it, nor quite enough HQs on the ground. My purpose was to SAVE Russia from a German attack that I feared was going to come as I am quite certain that Marc still had local superiority in summer 1941. In that regard the tactical defeat in Spain, and the 3 or 4 British units lost, fulfilled a purpose. I could well have lost an awful lot more than that in the East if Marc had really gone for me. Maybe I overestimated his strength in the East - cant really know the truth of that - but from my angle Russia now is very strong with many many units spawning since the Spanish campaign started, and he certainyl wont take Moscow now without major loss.

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... and it is a turn without a graphic. I continue to hunt down the last of the axis navy in the west, reducing the last 2 U boats in the north to strength 1, and destroying an Italian cruiser in Taranto naval base. By my reckoning Marc now has those 2 damaged U boats, 1 mauled Italian battleship, 1 carrier in the Baltic and maybe another U boat or two holed up alongside it. What I want to be able to do in the long run is evacuate a good portion of the RN to the East to reinforce attacks on the IJN, and I might nearly be in a position to do it soon. I will leave destroyer screens around the UK of course, but all the heavy stuff can depart to the East, by which time I will have the Germans in a 2 or 3 front war.

(Remember I had initially considered doing this NOW to squeeze the Japanese, but a change in strategy has led to this delayed consideration...)

So at sea all is fairly good. On land the British have begun to buy back lost units and basically rebuild a fair bit. Income is still over 250mpps, down from the dizzy heights of 350 when the pacific remained intact, but it is enough to do what I want to do as I prepare for more British operations in 1943. I like the Brits - anyone would think I live there... :-)

Tactically the battle for southern Burma continues. I made a mess of Marc's paras north of Rangoon and am fairly confident I can hold him away from the oil. Soon the Japanese will be facing more Chinese aggression along with the US navy and the Burma battle, and Jap mpps will be stretched. It will be interesting to see which zone Marc prioritises, because the jam can only be spread so thin, and in order to win this game he needs to make inroads somewhere. My intention is to keep that jam as thin as possible while I try to plot the shattering of the German army... wonder whether I can do that in 1943 or whether I need to have a longer term view and target 1944. That is a timescale I have not decided yet. I did launch a few air strikes in the East that turn and found the Luftwaffe fairly strong but not unbeatable. Did minor damage to a panzer unit and to paras in the Caucasus.

Elsewhere quiet. I think it will be quiet from the allies for a fair while now. Purchase pattern will be key from here...

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Whatever happened in the MidEast CH? You know there is a lot of oil(read MPPs) there. It's a theater a way from easy Axis redeployments and there is an avenue to help your ally out, a real cakewalk for a competent UK(CW) army group.:cool:

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Another ugly turn for the UK. I retook Denmark smashing the upgraded corps there using air, carrier support and ground assault. I also nailed one of Al's DDs that he moved into the Baltic. The other is now isolated and in trouble. On the Eastern front I repositioned and brought up additional forces. Al moved up close to my lines and I sense a clash coming this winter. It could be ugly and very brutal as there has been no fighting for several turns now. Both he and I are strong. I think I can maintain air superiority over the entire front if it comes to a clash this winter backed up by 4 tactical air units.

In the Pacific theater... Rabul fell and Al lost another corps that he had sent in to try to hold it. Poor Ausies. Sniff sniff... Not much you can do against 6 Carriers and support ships. I hammered by ground assault the last holdout in the DEI... a stranded Indian corps. I think he's down to 3 points now and there is no escape for him. I bombarded Rangoon heavily from the air, even using carrier support and mauled the corps there too. I need to bring up additional units to secure that city. They are on their way. In China the weather was poor and I sat tight. Japan got 3 critical advances last turn that I feel will make things very difficult in the Asian theater for Al. Japanese income is climbing fast and I have had long delayed additional units deploying. I think I have a choice now... Japan has a huge army and airforce. I can easily concentrate both against 1 target. Do I go for China? Austrailia? India? or... Russia? Tough decision. I need to think on it... or maybe I already have made up my mind. Hmmm.

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In answer to your question Seamonkey - Iraq is mine already after a revolution, so the oil is secured. Next turn I'll show a few more graphics so that people can understand the geopgraphy.

I am in a no man's land situation at present. The US navy is strong enough to strike, but it is getting stronger all the time so I might as well be patient! Russia is also very strong now, but it is winter and a daft time to hit really, plus I want to do it when I am ready and when I can distract German forces elsewhere. The UK is rebuilding after losses, although she sank 3 u boats that turn and retook Iceland so all is not quiet totally - but much planning going on. Burma and China rumble on a bit, but fairly well stalemated. In the pacific advance US forces took the Marshall Islands, not all that far due east of mainland Japan. China hit a few more Japanese forces, continuing the slow attrition of Japanese mpps.

So an eerie calm has descended for now. I am working towards hitting Germany in the medium term - I have made that clear in my strategic update. When it comes it is going to be nasty because the forces will be so huge, and for precisely that reason I have to do it right and time it right, so dont expect it in the next few turns. Against Japan I am in a holding pattern: I dont think the Emperor's boys are in a very strong position although the loss of British ground troops in the pacific has allowed a bit more Japanese overall progress than I had hoped. Marc is stuck there really - if he pushes his navy into the Indian Ocean my US navy will hit him through the central pacific, and conversely if he strikes out East at the US then the British have a free hand in Burma and surrounding areas. Tough position, that will be made tougher when my Brit Navy gathers and arrives on the scene.

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I almost hammered Al on the East Front this turn. The weather had turned nice and he moved up close to me. I almost unleashed my armies and armor because I knew there was a fair chance the weather would turn back to winter on his next turn. In the end I decided to sit tight. Germany has a lot of units deploying and shortly I will face a 2 front fight. I would say the Red army is close to parity ground wise... air wise... the Luftwaffe is still superior. I did launch a minor attack on an adjacent unit. Al lost a UK DD this turn to the Bismark and company. Lots going on behind the scenese.

In the East... I was surprised by the fall of Marcus... so close to the mainland. It is either a trap with his carriers nearby or a way to distract the IJN from an invasion of Austrailia. Since the IJN has 2 major battle groups it will not stop me from my main objective. The assualt on Rangoon continued and the last UK unit in DEI is still hanging on... though he is stranded. Had the weather been good he would have been destroyed. In China I decided to finally put the Japanese airforce to work. I hammered and destroyed the Chinese armor. Last turn I hammered the Flying Tigers and feel I probably came near to nailing it. I will shortly be ramping things up in China and elsewhere.

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... very quiet from the allies through the winter. I am buying lots in preparation for Summr 43, reinforcing key areas, jockeying my forces and hoping that axis intelligence is poor.

However more attacks from the mighty Chinese. These guys might end up being my war winners. I have 2 armies now on maximum experience of 5 stars, have income of 170 thanks to tech advance, and am able to do 8 - 10 points of ground damage every turn. Later in the game, when the Japanese are really stretched, Chinese ground attacks might be what turns Hirohito upside down.

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Burma fell this turn though I probably sacrificed an understrength para to secure it. It was a close thing. Al's last UK unit in the DEI is still clinging on... just barely. The Tokyo home guard deployed this turn so Al probably has units nearby. Somthing of concern. In the West... not much to report other than Germany deployed a whole lot of units and had a diplo victory in that West Africa went Axis. On the East front... nothing to report other than each side is strong and waiting.

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Anyway another almost silent turn from the allies. I destroyed Japanese paras north of Rangoon in revenge for the fall of the town. Got enough force in Burma to stop him short of the oil I think. Chinese did yet more damage, 2 to an armour unit, 4 I think to a corps and 6 or 7 to an army that was forced then to retreat. All good fun. I also took Kwajalein on the eastern edge of the Marshall Islands with an amphibious Free French corps. Hard to know what to do with the Free french - got a max of 2 units and have an income, but cannot invest in tech at all so am using them as a free, disposable, "give it a go and see what happens" sort of force. The more I think of Peter's post a page or two back the more I think he is right to a degree.

Otherwise very quiet indeed...

Back to Marc and his scheming. My own scheming, after trying so hard to use the British to make his life tough, is going well at present. Will be interesting to see what gives in this battle of wills. The calm cant go on forever.

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Very quiet turn. I bet Al is wondering what the IJN is up to. He has not seen them for several turns. China is eating up MMPs... I think shortly I may be forced to go all out in China and end this game of attrition. It would mean a shortage of resources for the IJN... It all depends on how operation Dynamo pans out.

In Germany... it's January 43 and not much going on other than reinforcing my line and waiting for Al to make his big move. I have a feeling it will be Summer 43.

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OK - very quiet still. The Brits declared on Persia and seized the oil; Tehran will follow shortly. I also got given 2 lovely spanking new British cruisers that turn which was nice.

Chinese attacks destroyed a Japanese corps and damaged 2 armies. Not fun for the Japanese commanders I am sure.

Elsewhere more movement, more purchasing and a readying of things for the Spring. I am roughly on course for where I wanted to be globally when planning for 1943 apart from Russia where my purchase pattern is a little on the late side: I didnt quite get all the items I wanted into the production queue early enough, but that is no bad thing. If Marc attacks me first I will have them arrive just in time for the counter... :-P If he doesnt attack then my own actions there may need to be delayed to summer rather than spring.

One thing of note - the Australian Defence Corps mobilised that turn. Having not played Gold before I dont know if that is a normal planned thing, or whether it means Jap forces are heading for Oz. We will see...

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The Allies are now ready to resume operations. The Spain debacle put me back a bit, certainly in terms of the Brits and their planning, and it has taken a while to get the US into a position to act, but I hope to be able to show progress nearly every turn from here on in as the drive to destroy the axis gathers pace.

Today - Tunisia. ANZAC forces invaded and took Tunis with the help of strong carrier support. Graphic here:

Clearly this will not stop here - my Aussies and New Zealanders will drive on West to Algeria and take the whole of North Africa in time. This will increase mpps and also put a bit of pressure on Spain again.

To the north German engineers appeared north of Paris and the increasingly strong allied air force was able to destroy them after 4 tac bomber runs. Life in France is about to get very difficult for axis troops...

Further East the British Army in the Middle East close in on Tehran, and in China a counter attack in Burma forced a Jap Special Forces unit to retreat. Pressure here will also crank up soon.

Lastly the Chinese did yet more damage as army after army gathers serious experience. I am very much looking forward to seeing how much mayhem the Chinese Army in general can wreak once the Japanese are stretched.

Elsewhere more jockeying, buying and reinforcing, particularly from the US which is going to have a bigger and bigger impact on the war from here.

And Russia? Well - to give you an idea of the size of my Russian Army, I got a tech increase last turn and it used all of my mpps up this turn in order to dish out the new tech to my units. There are a seriously large number of troops in Red Army uniform now, and when they are unleashed (at the right time of course) the momentum is going to be huge!

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No graphics as I am keeping my cards close to my chest. I am in a very dangerous position at the moment and I want to make sure I am careful with what I do next. I retook Marcus Island this turn. -1 US corps. Al know knows where 4 of my carriers are... but what of the other 6? In China Japanes airpower became dominant. I have air superiority over the Chinese and really demonstrated it for the first time... destroying a Chinese army. In Burma I brought up reinforcements and stregthened that unit that Al damaged. Japanese subs are now raiding UK supply lines too. I have a feeling Al's carriers are operating near the Solomons... perhaps it's intelligence... perhaps it's a gut feeling.

Germany... again the phony war. Al flexed his airpower muscle last turn and took our an Engineering unit. I have strong air assets in the West and East so it will be interesting to see what happens long term. Germany is near 600 income per turn... and there has been no fighting for a while now. USSR and German income are near parity... and with no fighting... both countries are very strong. It may simply come down to who jumps first and screws it up. Then again I may have already done so by not pushing hard against USSR in 42 to see if I could break him. Time will tell.

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Next wave - Britain invades Algeria. 4 carrier strikes and 2 Anzac attacks did for the garrison, and next turn it will fall. Graphic here:

Elsewhere US forces took the Azores, creating a mid atlantic base for operations, and in China more counter attacks in the south made a mess of another Japanese Army.

... and perhaps signs of my 1943 strategy emerging in the main theatre against Germany. My air force units operating out of England took on and destroyed the corps in Brussels. In Russia 4 air attacks did some damage to German fighter cover. Can Marc's air force defend both east and west? We will soon see, because a fair part of my 1943 strategy is indeed to use air to cause as much damage as possible. I have good air tech on both fronts with a lot of chits invested to try and maximise the air power available. My Russian ground units have max tech in air defence, and before long allied bomber units will begin to wear down mpps and perhaps stretch axis air cover even further. The success of this tactic will depend largely on how many fighter units Marc has bought - it is an outside chance that he may have too few to cope, and he wont have time to rebuild before the winter. We will see. This is just an opening gambit on my part, to test his strength and purchase pattern. If it doesnt reap big benefits then there are plenty of other options available!

In the Pacific? Still a holding pattern. I will nudge and push here and there to keep the IJN busy while all the time building and reinforcing my position. For now happy to let the Chinese tie down as many Japanese troops and mpps as possible.

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Al has been hammering me from the air in the West this turn. He destroyed a corps. I had limited damage to air units but his ability to hammer me will be a problem. Again on the Russian front limited action.

In China... I hammered a corps by air and ground reducing it to strength 1 before it retreated. I did managed to locate what I believe is his carriers. I had a lot of movement behind the scenes. For the moment Japan's income is good but I am in difficult situation. The attrition in China is hurting.

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OK - the turning tide continues to turn. Algeria fell - nice mpp boost for the UK, and also I invaded and conquered Ireland, another small and handy mpp boost.

Next on the graphic list is Burma. While everything cranks up against Germany I would be foolish to let the Japanese off the hook entirely, so while the Chinese continue to chip away (2 Japanese armies mauled over there this turn) I went onto the offensive in Burma.

Didnt bag the special forces unit targetted, but Marc cant put fighters and mpps everywhere so it is all part of a gradual squeeze.

And what about Germany? It's May 1943. I'm not quite ready to launch my move, but air power destroyed the replacement corps in Brussels and it will be the case that as fast as Marc moves units in there I will destroy them. This will drain him by 10% mpps at least every turn so this alone is worth the effort. Also allied bombers began raids on Europe, with US bombers in Africa targetiing and damaging production in Athens. It is a slow start to my campaign against Hitler, but no need to go mad yet - these things are all useful in the final analysis.

Bagged a Spanish cruiser in the Med too - I reckon that is nearly it for the last of axis naval power around Italy.

And the Pacific? Holding pattern, but got given 3 ships last turn and the US fleet is growing and growing. No hurry in this sphere yet - time is on my side.

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OK Al, the time has come. I believe you've pretty much turned the momentum in Europe and your continued strategy there should be successful, I want you to think about opening up another area for grooming the Allied assault against Japan.

Japan is tied down in China, Burma is an excellent diversion also, now to the SRA to cut the oil lifeline. The Celebes is the key, an area for staging Allied SF and air power, right in the middle of the SRA, hammering the oil resources with your bombers. Marc will have to bring his naval forces to fight and this is where the battle will be and you will win if you configure your deployments appropriately. "Remember the Alamo".:cool:......err...oops.......wrong war.:confused:...well you know what I mean.

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:-) - we will see. I guess I've slipped into slightly conservative mode as time is so much on my side I dont want to do anything daft and put myself back, but rest assured that as soon as I have struck in Europe and got the Germans in trouble I will strike in the pacific. To be honest once Germany is crushed the Pacific will be a cake walk from the geographical position that is currently in force. All I need do for now is hold my shape.

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I've followed this AAR since the beginning (I love these things from you Battlefront guys btw...and they always lead me to purchasing the game).

It sounds like this game has gone mostly historical in terms of the momentum swinging back and forth according to historical timelines. I think Abukede needed to either do more in Russia to attack the allies and keep the Axis momentum going there or else lull the allies to attack him there and then get in that counterpunch that he was hoping to do.

When the Allies just sat still in Russia and Abukede sat still too (with no major activity on other fronts) that basically sealed the Axis' fate since it doesn't look like the Japanese are progressing better than historically. I think the Axis' one final chance for a stalemate is to destroy the Allied landings in western Europe whenever they come.

The strength of the Allied airpower suggests that this will be an incredibly tough task to do but the Axis did weaken the Allies somewhat with the actions in Spain so there is still some hope for a crushing of the landings and a stalemate in the war at this point from my POV.

I think a stalemate should be considered an Axis victory in terms of this game since that is much better than what was occurred historically.

Anyways, thanks for the awesome AAR (all three of you guys)! I'm excited to see how the war ends.

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Wait until the first patch and this Chinese advantage will vanish, hopefully, more strategic variance. As you are probably aware of brian, the consensus has been the Axis has had the upperhand. No longer is that true in GOLD, but in fact, IMO, the pendulum has swung to the Allies, perhaps a bit too far, as Al says, we shall see.

Never the less, be sure of one thing, GOLD is very close to optimum balance, a slight tweak here or there, and the map is alive with possibilities, some yet to be uncovered.

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Not much action but a lot of movement behind the scenes. No pictures either as I am in a rather delicate position and one mistake from either Al or myself could turn the tide majorly.

Japan struck back and the armored force in Burma got hammered but is still alive... I think strength 4... the joys of supply. I have it and Al does not. Elsewhere I almost launched a major attack this turn with Japan... but decided to hold off. I got intelligence that made me cancel that operation. I feel pretty good about Japan at the moment... but Al's constant hammering in China slowed me down a bit.

In Germany... replaced that corps in the Lowlands again. It's getting more expensive for Al I think with the air attacks... he is taking a lot of damage but seriously I expect his air attacks to get a whole lot worse. I have a large force in the East and a good sized one in the West ready for landings. Production 4 has helped easily replace lost units. I think that with the units we have on the board now... whoever jumps first in the East had best do it right and be careful about it. I feel that either of us could kick off the festivities and do a tremendous amount of damage. I almost attacked Al this turn but the weather across the front was just not right. I think that with my tactical air and aircover in the East I may have the edge over Al and it could mean the difference in a serious fight. What I am not looking forward to is de-entrenching his units. Al gets antsy occasionally and I had hoped to tempt him into striking me first last Summer, which worked out well in the end because he invaded Spain. Spain set the UK back about 6 months in terms of losses last summer. His failure in Spain and my sitting tight on the East for a year allowed me to build up a defensive force in the West using Spanish, Italian and German units... while in the East I was able to strengthen my forces there and build up strong airsuperiority. I think Germany has 5 upgraded fighters there and 4 tactical units with bomber support to deentrench and or reduce morale, not to mention 6 or 7 fully rested and upgraded Panzer units. I think when it happens it could be a Kursk on a massive scale and with the reseves both of us have present... who knows what will happen. Though it is likely I made a big mistake. Al is a fine player and unlike most I play he is the only one I feel confident can beat me on a regular basis. When you dont see a lot of action... there is a lot going on behind the scenese on both sides and it is like a chess game... trying to out manuvere the other. There is a tremendous amount of tension on both sides right now.